LA - Vehicle drives through New Year's crowd - Multiple fatalities reported - Bourbon Street New Orleans - January 1 2025

[nhmemorymaker]

Authorities are examining how a U.S.-born citizen transformed from a military veteran to a suspect in a deadly rampage. The probe is piecing together what the suspect did in Egypt and whether he was radicalized beforehand or whether the trip marked the start of this process, with ABC reporting evidence he was in contact with the Islamist group ISIS.

Shamsud-Din Jabbar's visit to Egypt under scrutiny

Shamsud-Din Jabbar went to the north African country before the New Orleans attack, his brother told ABC News.

www.newsweek.com

…

The investigation now turned to how Jabbar - a U.S. Army veteran who recently held a six-figure job – was radicalized. He grew up Muslim in Texas and most recently lived in Houston.

New pictures show New Orleans terror suspect placing explosives ahead of deadly bloodbath

The FBI has released eerie surveillance images showing 42-year-old Shamsud-Din Jabbar just about an hour before the deadly truck attack on Bourbon Street in New Orleans.

www.fox4news.com

…

I guess, my biggest takeaway from this article is the following:
WHAT was he doing in Toronto?

A U.S. government official told the Associated Press on condition of anonymity that Jabbar traveled to Egypt in 2023, staying in Cairo for a week, before returning to the U.S. and then traveling to Toronto for three days. It was not immediately clear what he did during those travels

 

[vls12345]

I guess, my biggest takeaway from this article is the following:
WHAT was he doing in Toronto?

A U.S. government official told the Associated Press on condition of anonymity that Jabbar traveled to Egypt in 2023, staying in Cairo for a week, before returning to the U.S. and then traveling to Toronto for three days. It was not immediately clear what he did during those travels

I wonder that too.

It made me think of another case I've been following here on WS:

D

Post in thread 'Canada - Ahmed Fouad Mostafa Eldidi, 62, & son, Mostafa Eldidi, 26,“advanced stage of planning serious, violent attack in Toronto', July '24 * Arrest*'

Dec 17, 2024

Toronto terror suspect charged with multiple war crimes: RCMP

A man facing terror charges for allegedly plotting an attack in Toronto with his son is now also facing multiple war crimes charges.

www.cp24.com

December 17, 2024
'TORONTO — A man facing terror charges for allegedly plotting an attack in Toronto with his son is now also facing multiple war crimes charges, police said Tuesday.

The RCMP said 62-year-old Ahmed Eldidi — who was arrested along with his son earlier this year for alleged terrorism offences — faces four war crimes charges, including murder, mutilation and torture against a protected person in a "non-international armed conflict."

• dotr

• 

 

[Chimera]

Family identifies final Bourbon Street terror attack victim

Family confirms that Latasha Polk, 47, was killed when the suspect plowed through Bourbon Street crowds, firing shots before a New Orleans Police Department officer shot and killed him.

www.wdsu.com

NEW ORLEANS —
The final person killed during a terrorist attack in New Orleans on New Year's Day has been identified.

Family confirms that Latasha Polk, 47, was killed when the suspect plowed through Bourbon Street crowds, firing shots before a New Orleans Police Department officer shot and killed him.
Polk was the mother of a 14-year-old son.

Rest in peace, Latasha !
She was a single mom.

There are other victims who had children, both adult kids and young children, and the other lady who was a single mom as well.
The victims had siblings and parents and relatives and friends.
Their loss has devastated so many lives.

Another link with more photos :

PICTURED: All 14 victims of the New Orleans terror attack

Horror unfolded when Shamsud Din Jabbar, 42 drove a Ford F-150 into crowds ringing in 2025 in New Orleans' French Quarter on Wednesday around 3.15am.

www.dailymail.co.uk

The youngest victim was 18 years old and the oldest 63. Most victims were in their 20s

 

[Elley Mae]

ISIS terrorist Shamsud-Din Jabbar’s view of New Orleans seen though Meta glasses before terrorist attack

ISIS terrorist Shamsud-Din Jabbar’s view of New Orleans seen though Meta glasses before terrorist attack

Chilling first-person video shows ISIS terrorist Shamsud-Din Jabbar’s view of New Orleans during a scouting trip ahead of his New Year’s Day attack on Bourbon Street.

nypost.com

Chilling first-person video shows ISIS terrorist Shamsud-Din Jabbar’s view of New Orleans during a scouting trip ahead of his New Year’s Day attack on Bourbon Street.

The FBI released footage Sunday that Jabbar recorded with Meta smart classes during a trip to the French Quarter.

 

[iamshadow21]

Wow, that must have been horrible, even more so being paralyzed and not able to get yourself out of such a dangerous, deadly spot. But I don't understand the final line in that article. How did his leg save him? Was there more after that that wasn't included here, or did I miss something?

I assumed he meant that the chair took most of the impact and he would have died without it.

MOO

 

[Chimera]

Survivor Jeremi Sensky spoke to NBC News from his hospital room, where he is recovering with two broken legs.
"I’m assuming I got hit by the truck, but honestly, nobody’s ever told me that, so I don’t know," Sensky said. "But my wheelchair was completely bashed and the pieces were all over the place, so something hit me."

Everything happened so quickly, he said. One moment he was turning around and the next he was on the ground in the middle of the sound of gunfire coming in different directions.

"I just heard screaming and I heard gunfire," he recalled.

He couldn't find his phone, so Sensky began screaming for help.

"No one would come, and so I pushed myself on my back, and I saw people, and they were taking pictures from the balcony, and I was screaming out for help and people were just looking at me," Sensky said.

A cop named Patrick eventually walked over to him and explained that many people were dead, Sensky recalled. The officer told Sensky that he “was lucky to be alive.”

"I kept asking for someone to help me and get me out of there and it took a while," Sensky said. "I realized that it was a bad scene."

Sensky, who was paralyzed from the waist down prior to the attack, doesn't believe that anyone realized he couldn't walk as they took in the chaos of the scene. Eventually, he was carried to an ambulance and taken to the hospital where he underwent surgery.

His right leg was broken in a "million pieces," but Sensky also said it saved him.

Survivor of New Orleans terrorist recalls 'surreal' aftermath of deadly attack that shattered his legs

Jeremi Sensky is one of at least 35 people who were injured when a Texas man rammed a truck through Bourbon Street on New Year's Day.

www.nbcnews.com

Thankful Jeremi survived !
It had to be terrifying, and the mental trauma alone will be with him for a long time.
Hopefully he's healing swiftly, physically and emotionally.

It sounds now like they were attending to the most severely injured, and that the people on the balconies weren't allowed onto the streets ?
Since Jeremi was paralyzed from the waist down -- hopefully that means he couldn't feel as much pain ?
Idk for sure.
But his upper body had to be in pain from the impact alone.

As to why no one seemed to come to help, this link may partly explain :

At least 14 killed, dozens hurt on Bourbon Street in New Orleans as driver intentionally slams truck into crowd; attacker dead

Officials have identified the man who intentionally rammed a pickup truck into a crowd on Bourbon Street as revelers celebrated the new year.

www.cbsnews.com

"Once the gunfire stopped, we stayed in the alcove until the gunfire stopped, came out into the street, and came across a lot of — several people who had been hit, [we] wanted to see what we could do to help," Nicole Mowrer said. She said the couple found the victims had died.

The Mowrers said the victims they saw had injuries from the truck impact, and they did not see any apparent gunshot wounds. They said they left the area once emergency responders started arriving.
Rbm.

If a passerby wants to help but isn't trained as an emt, or trained in other medical procedures, they might actually cause harm whilst trying to assist ?
Making it worse.
Imo.

 

[Arkay]

https://www.cnn.com/2025/01/05/us/video/fbi-new-orleans-attack-timeline-meta-glasses-sot-digvid

FBI video with more info on how he scoped out his target beforehand.

IMO that means he was well aware that the bollards were inoperable on Bourbon Street.

 

[sunspun]

I guess, my biggest takeaway from this article is the following:
WHAT was he doing in Toronto?

A U.S. government official told the Associated Press on condition of anonymity that Jabbar traveled to Egypt in 2023, staying in Cairo for a week, before returning to the U.S. and then traveling to Toronto for three days. It was not immediately clear what he did during those travels

Could he have just had a layover there on his return flight from Egypt? Maybe his flight included a stop in Toronto, and he arranged it so that he could have a couple days to explore the city?

 

[CHEL]

'I never slept that night': Meet the man whose cameras captured terror on Bourbon Street

Bryan Lagarde spent New Year’s Eve as he usually does: facing a bank of video screens, working. But this year, it was different. He got a call around 3 a.m. from a shaken police officer. "There was hurt in the voice. There was shock in the voice. And the words she said were, 'I'm standing in...

www.nola.com

 

[Chimera]

I don't think anyone had an accurate view of SDJ. He hid it well. And SDJ's comment about the Gaza situation, saying it was genocide on both sides, indicates he didn't take a full-on Islamicist approach at that specific time.

I'd like to know who he met with/stayed with on his trip to Egypt.

I'd also like to know more about the "rare" explosive substances he had.

Rbm.
This ^^^^
Esp. the bolded !

Waiting for an update.
It may be a while.
Omo.

 

[Tiff23fr]

Finally, investigators are looking into Jabbar’s trips to Egypt and Canada and other visits to Atlanta and Tampa, according to Myrthil. He traveled to Cairo from June 22 to July 3, 2023, and visited Ontario from July 10 to July 13, 2023, he said. FBI agents are digging into what he did on those trips and whether they tie into the attack.

https://www.cnn.com/2025/01/05/us/new-orleans-attack/index.html

 

[Chimera]

https://www.cnn.com/2025/01/04/us/new-orleans-truck-attack-witness-video/index.html

Thinking back, she believes the driver shot at her from the truck while she was falling.
Her other friends regrouped on the side street but no one could find their friend Brandon, (different from Brandon Taylor who sadly passed) who was standing right next to Alexis before the truck plowed through the street. She started crying out of fear for Brandon, whom she said is like a brother to her.

A police officer nearby found Alexis and tried to get her an EMT, she said, while her friends went to search for Brandon. She thought the EMTs were focused on people with more severe injuries, so it was taking too long.
Green and red bolding mine.
Parenthesis mine.

Possibly another reason it took first responders a while.
My first action would be to call 911 and just wait.
Although I think it's ok to cover a person with your jacket or a blanket-- if it looks like like they're alive, but in shock ?
Imo.

 

[imstilla.grandma]

Devorah Margolin, a senior fellow at The Washington Institute for Near East Policy, said counterterrorism efforts have grown more sophisticated since the Sept. 11th attacks and the Islamic State no longer controls territory, but its influence persists.

“For many of these groups, they realize they cannot carry out these very organized, high-level attacks that they once did, and so they're encouraging their supporters to pick up a knife, get in a car, and do what we would call low-intensity attacks that actually create mass damage because they're often targeting civilians,” Margolin said.

New Orleans attack underscores terror threat in US

The terror attack in New Orleans that killed 14 people is considered the deadliest Islamic State-inspired assault on U.S. soil in recent years.

www.wdsu.com

"The vast majority of people who've been charged with Islamic State-related crimes are homegrown, which means that they were born here in the United States, or they are U.S. permanent residents,” Margolin said

New Orleans attack underscores terror threat in US

The terror attack in New Orleans that killed 14 people is considered the deadliest Islamic State-inspired assault on U.S. soil in recent years.

www.wdsu.com

 

[sunspun]

Finally, investigators are looking into Jabbar’s trips to Egypt and Canada and other visits to Atlanta and Tampa, according to Myrthil. He traveled to Cairo from June 22 to July 3, 2023, and visited Ontario from July 10 to July 13, 2023, he said. FBI agents are digging into what he did on those trips and whether they tie into the attack.

https://www.cnn.com/2025/01/05/us/new-orleans-attack/index.html

So why no mention of where he was July 3 to July 10 in that statement, I wonder? He couldn't have gone home to TX in that short time. It doesn't take a week to travel from Cairo to Ontario, does it?? Maybe by boat, lol. Hmm. Maybe it could on a cheap ticket. A really cheap ticket? Is Ontario a typical stopover point on a cheap ticket from Cairo to Texas?

 

[indicolite22]

So why no mention of where he was July 3 to July 10 in that statement, I wonder? He couldn't have gone home to TX in that short time. It doesn't take a week to travel from Cairo to Ontario, does it?? Maybe by boat, lol. Hmm. Maybe it could on a cheap ticket. A really cheap ticket? Is Ontario a typical stopover point on a cheap ticket from Cairo to Texas?

In one of the earlier reports it was mentioned that he went to Cairo and returned to the US before traveling to Canada.

 

[indicolite22]

Apparently the name of the mystery compound is R-Salt. They need to retest to see if that's the explosive he used.

UPDATE: Today at a press conference the ATF said that the initial testing of the explosive residue left behind in New Orleans was a compound called R-Salt which as we reported is quite rare.

However the ATF says that pure RDX was found at Jabbar’s home in Houston. That is a very common explosive. They say they believe when the FBI conducts additional tests of the material believed to be R-Salt it will come back to be RDX. Again, quite common.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1875970991974650040

1,3,5‐trinitroso‐1,3,5‐triazine (R‐Salt) is an insensitive energetic that has previously been used as an improvised explosive.

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/380626159_A_comprehensive_study_on_the_thermal_properties_and_chemical_characterization_of_135-trinitroso-135-triazine_R-Salt

 

[imstilla.grandma]

The same report included the attack-scenario modeling. In addition to those showing potential speeds of 50 mph and 70 mph, all other scenarios showed an F-150 could make turns onto Bourbon at between 12 mph and 20 mph without hitting a curb or running onto a sidewalk - exceeding the 10 mph crash rating of the system the city chose.

The source said the primary concern of city officials, along with French Quarter resident and business representatives, was protecting pedestrians from vehicles turning onto Bourbon from side streets at lower speeds.

The report scored different systems on various criteria. The system ultimately chosen by the city received a deduction in its “safety rating” score because it did “not meet the project requirements specified.”

It received higher marks for the weight of the bollards and their low costs.

https://www.reuters.com/world/us/new-orleans-planned-new-bourbon-street-barriers-only-crash-rated-10-mph-2025-01-04/

 

[SouthAussie]

Apparently the name of the mystery compound is R-Salt. They need to retest to see if that's the explosive he used.

UPDATE: Today at a press conference the ATF said that the initial testing of the explosive residue left behind in New Orleans was a compound called R-Salt which as we reported is quite rare.

However the ATF says that pure RDX was found at Jabbar’s home in Houston. That is a very common explosive. They say they believe when the FBI conducts additional tests of the material believed to be R-Salt it will come back to be RDX. Again, quite common.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1875970991974650040

1,3,5‐trinitroso‐1,3,5‐triazine (R‐Salt) is an insensitive energetic that has previously been used as an improvised explosive.

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/380626159_A_comprehensive_study_on_the_thermal_properties_and_chemical_characterization_of_135-trinitroso-135-triazine_R-Salt

From what I can see, R-Salt is used in the production of dyes and pigments. Also as a water softener and corrosion inhibitor.

R Salt | Cas no 148-75-4 | Manufacturer, Supplier, Exporter, India

R Salt Manufacturer, R Salt Supplier, R Salt Exporter

emcochemicals.com

Also .... "previously been used as an improvised explosive." .... "first synthesized in 1888"

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/380626159_A_comprehensive_study_on_the_thermal_properties_and_chemical_characterization_of_135-trinitroso-135-triazine_R-Salt

 

[Chimera]

The scary Islamist history at NOLA terrorist Jabbar's local mosque

The focus is now on Masjid Bilal, the local mosque of NOLA terrorist Shamsud-Din Jabbar, and its scary history with an Islamist preacher and Saudi propaganda.

www.dailymail.co.uk

The mosque belongs to The Islamic Society of Greater Houston (ISGH), which runs 20 centers across Texas' biggest city. It officially promotes tolerance, but the group also has a troubling track record of extremist preaching.

This includes its former cleric Zoubir Bouchikhi, who has been deported from the US (in 2011) and who has called non-Muslims 'worse than animals.'
Also, anti-Christian Saudi propaganda was discovered at its Houston mosques.
Since Jabbar's attack, the mosque and ISGH have gone quiet.
"If anyone is contacted by the media, it is very important that you do not respond."

‘I Joined ISIS’: The New Orleans Attacker’s Secret Radicalization

Recordings and interviews detail Shamsud-Din Jabbar’s growing discontent with American society and increasing isolation even within his local Muslim community.

www.nytimes.com

Several residents said they had never seen him at prayers at the nearest mosque, and the spokesman for the one farther away also said he did not remember him attending.

ISGH has hosted dozens of interfaith gatherings and worked with local Christian churches on charity food drives, according to CAIR.

But they also have a sketchy track record when it comes to hard line Islamist views..."

Red emphasis mine.
Parenthesis mine.

In the first red bolded; the followers have been told to not respond to the media.

Second red bolded ; Curious if he'd attended at all, and they're now distancing themselves from Shamsud, or if they're saying this to keep the fbi and media away ?
SDJ wouldn't necessarily need to hear the services to be influenced, and he could've become radicalized all by his isolated lonesome.

Simply out of curiosity, am wondering if the fbi will check the security cameras (if the mosque has them) and see if SDJ was a regular and if so what was being taught ?
Did Zoubir leave an assistant to carry on his work when he was deported ?

It sounds from the first article linked that the local and state police and the fbi are looking into this.
Omo.

 

[bestill]

Not sure if this has been posted -

https://twitter.com/x/status/1875957264462626824